


One Way or Another (Radio Edit)

by VeriLee



Series: One Way or Another [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Dark Comedy, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Obsessive Behavior, Pining, Revenge, Stalking, romcom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-06 13:03:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17345714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeriLee/pseuds/VeriLee
Summary: T-rated versions of any M-rated chapters and stories of my Reylo fic, One Way or Another and its spinoffs.





	One Way or Another (Radio Edit)

_Hold me tight as I tell myself that you might make sense_

_And make good what has been just so bad_

_Let's see this through_

_It's a pretty good bad idea_

_Me and you_

_~*~*~_

 

 

Rey wasn’t sure that magnolia trees could actually grow in the desert. She certainly hadn’t seen anything like the tree at Ben’s family home in or around Jakku. But whether it was accurate or not, one had found its way into the desert landscape she was crafting out of glass and tile.

She had been sorting her materials when she came across the tile – a cream colored little square with little swirls and dashes of gold that screamed late-1970s. It had been something she had salvaged a while ago – no doubt, someone, somewhere, had finally gotten around to remodeling a tacky old bathroom and tossed the remnants of its former life out on the street corner.

Rey hadn’t had anything in particular in mind when she’d gathered up the hunks of ceramic but, after visiting Ben’s home and being awed by the stately tree his great-grandfather had planted so long ago, she knew exactly what the fragments were destined to become. They were perfect – more than perfect – to be used for the rich flowers that hung fat and heavy from the tree’s sturdy branches. The occasional flecks of gold, which might look tacky when emblazoned across an entire wall, were going to add just the right pop of color to the soft, creamy petals.

Ben didn’t hover too close while Rey worked, dedicating his attention to his notebook or the kitchenette or whatever he happened to be doing at the time and, apart from the occasional glance in her direction,  she didn’t think he’d paid very close attention to the deviation from her original design.  However, the more concrete the image grew , the more she felt nervous apprehension flicker through her.

What would Ben think of her immortalizing his significant family tree in her mosaic, its roots tangled and twisted among the prickly pears and desert dandelions that peppered the gravel? Would he read something in it? Or would he see it as just a little flourish of something new and a little different, and leave it at that?

Rey spared a glimpse over her shoulder. Ben was engrossed in his laptop, his brow furrowed as he concentrated on whatever he was looking at. Rey had the unbidden urge to smooth it away, with her thumb or maybe a kiss, to calm whatever was agitating him, as he had done for her. Flustered, she turned away, embarrassed, as though he would somehow hear silent thoughts.

_Stop being so sentimental_ , she ordered herself _._ He said they were friends. That's all.  She knew why he was here.

As if to punctuate her internal monologue, Bebe's chipper yap sounded softly through the speaker. Rey glanced towards the wall to see the little dog, half underneath the couch, short tail bobbing playfully. Across the room, Kaydel was perched on a stool near the counter, humming to herself and sipping a glass of iced tea as she read a book. With a shaking hand, Rey resumed her work on the mosaic. It was OK. It was fine. Nothing had changed.

And just like that everything changed. 

> “Bebe!" Kaydel cried out as the dog scampered across the floor, nails clicking on the hardwood. Bebe had rushed between Kaydel's feet just as she'd risen from her seat to carry her empty cup to the sink.
> 
> “Bebe," she said again, her tone shifting towards confusion and a hint of fear. “What do have there, girl?"

Rey had looked back up at Kaydel's first shout. She blinked but was otherwise frozen. There was a flash of vibrant red in Bebe's mouth. An apprehensive shiver washed over Rey. She wasn’t completely sure if she was eager or nervous to see what was about to unfold.

“Ben," she said quietly, barely above a whisper herself. “Turn up the volume."

Ben, startled from his contemplation, looked up “Huh?"

Rey nodded at the screen. “It's happening," she said, by way of explanation. “Turn it up." She hoped the irrational nerves she felt weren't obvious in her voice.

Ben did as she requested and they both watched in rapt silence as Kaydel leaned down and tugged the fabric from Bebe’s jaws, dangling it distastefully with two fingers in front of her. The lace, once so pretty, had been mangled by the dog's teeth, but there was no mistaking it for anything other than a bra. Rey watched as an array of emotions flitted across Kaydel's face - fear, anger, doubt, and finally a sickening realization. In spite of herself, Rey felt a pang of sympathy for the other woman.

Ben set his laptop on the small table and walked closer to the projection. Rey stayed where she was on the floor, pointedly avoiding Ben's face. She didn't want to watch him, to see excitement blossom in his eyes. 

> “Poe," Kaydel called in a strangled voice. She cleared her throat and repeated herself.
> 
> “What's up, doll?" Poe's voice wafted in from another room.
> 
> “Just... Come out here." Kaydel traced Bebe’s steps, nudging her doggie bed with one toe, glancing in the basket of chew toys as if expecting to find a collection of gnawed-on bras.

Rey watched, partly in dread, as Kaydel dropped to her knees to look under the couch, where Bebe had finally discovered the bra. She was pulling up the couch cushions, and her hand clasped around what Rey knew must have been the matching panties, garbling a choked sound of distress just as Poe sauntered into the room with a bland look of curiosity on his face, completely clueless about the chaos that was about to erupt around him. 

> Poe wiped his hands across an already sweaty tee shirt - he must have been running on the treadmill he kept in the spare room - and opened his mouth to speak. He didn't get the chance, however, as Kaydel stood up and threw a wad of red fabric at him with a surprising amount of force, given the material.
> 
> “What the actual fuck?" she screamed, trembling where she stood.
> 
> Poe blinked, looking utterly taken aback. “Kay? What’s gotten into you?"
> 
> "What's gotten into _me?_ What's gotten into _ME_?!" Kaydel stomped over to him, retrieving the underwear from the floor and shaking the garments at him. “What are- What is the meaning-" her words trailed off. She took a breath and started again. “Bebe found herself a new toy," she spat. “Care to explain?"
> 
> “Where on earth did she get this?" Poe took the mangled bra from Kaydel, somehow not recognizing the depth of Kaydel’s fury in his genuine confusion. “Did she find it at the dog park?"
> 
> “Try the couch!" Kaydel burst, jabbing a finger into his chest roughly.
> 
> Understanding finally washed across Poe's features, followed by irritation and defensiveness. “Hold on a minute," he said, his eyes narrowing. “You're not trying to accuse me of-"
> 
> “Well, they certainly aren't mine. I didn't leave them there."
> 
> “Neither did I!"
> 
> “No, but some tart you brought here obviously did!"
> 
> “What? Kaydel, doll! You know me - I love you! How could you think I’d…I’d…?" His question trailed off in defeat.
> 
> “Then how did they end up here?" Kaydel's voice cracked on the question, pain bleeding through her anger.
> 
> “I... I don't know,” Poe said with a helpless shrug.
> 
> “You had an _excuse_ for the perfume, for the Tinder profile, for the credit card," Kaydel said with desperation, “and I _believed_ you. But you're finally out of excuses, aren't you?"
> 
>  Poe tried to reach out to Kaydel, and she flinched away.

It went on for some time, Poe pleading to Kaydel; Kaydel rejecting his words, turning away from his grasp. Ben and Rey hardly moved as they watched the scene unfold, watched Kaydel throw up her hands in frustration, watched Poe follow her to the bedroom, then emerge again with a duffel bag over her shoulder. _She was going to crash with a friend,_ she declared, _she'd come back for the rest of her stuff later._ Poe watched, dejected, as she stormed out the door.

Rey forced away the brief twinge of guilt that nudged at her. Poe might not be guilty now but he’d certainly been guilty before. She wasn’t going to pity them. _She wasn’t._

She looked away and asked Ben to turn the sound back off when Poe kicked at Bebe's basket of toys, sending balls and chew toys flying in all directions before collapsing onto the couch to hang his head in his hands. Bebe, thinking it was time to play, eagerly chased after a squeaky rabbit toy and dropped it at Poe's feet, cocking her head in confusion, then nuzzling his leg when he didn't react. It was entirely too personal to be a part of.

“So," Rey declared, eyes darting around the now too-quiet room; she didn't want to watch Poe anymore, nor look directly into Ben's eyes right now. “Mission Accomplished, right?" Her attempt at joviality sounded hollow even to her own ears.

“Right," Ben parroted back, sounding a little bewildered himself.

He was probably a little in shock, Rey reasoned to herself - it could be overwhelming to want something for _so long_ and finally achieve it. The thought came to her, paired with a darker, more selfish one. _This was going to be the end._ Ben attaining his goal was going to be their goodbye. She was started by the urgency of her panic at the notion.

“You'll have to wait until tomorrow to call Kaydel or go find her or anything," she informed him, working hard to keep emotion out of her voice.

"Oh.” He turned towards Rey, though she kept her eyes down, studying a single piece of tile with gratuitous attention. “I, uh..."

"It'll be a tad suspicious if you call her out of the blue. So give it a night," Rey said, as though she were discussing the weather and not the impending breaking of her heart.

Because try as she had to deny it, that's what was going to happen. Ben would go back to his pristine life and Rey would be left longing once again.

 “I mean…" Ben began to stammer, “actually-"

_Not yet!_ Rey took a breath to attempt to calm the anxious dread that rushed through her. _Not yet. Just a little more time,_ she begged of fate or God or whatever shooting star might grant her wish.

“But tonight, we can celebrate," she announced, dropping the tile she’d been flipping over and over in her fingers. Her voice was a little high and frantic; she hoped Ben didn’t notice.

“Celebrate?" Ben seemed to have lost the ability to form complete sentences. He looked at Rey and she finally met his gaze.

Rey nodded. “Celebrate a job well done." She forced the corners of her lips to raise, a coy smile to mask her fears. “We've worked hard; we deserve it." She reached for his hands. It was a bad idea, but that wasn't going to stop her.

She pulled him to the bed and pushed against his shoulders to urge him to sit down. Rey wasn't exactly short, but Ben was so massive that even with her standing up and him sitting, she wasn't much taller than him. She stood between his legs and reached for his hair, that stupid soft hair she'd touch for the last time, tangling her fingers into the locks and tilting his face to hers, kissing his mouth hard, desperately. There was no tentative beginning this time.

She'd be broken when he left regardless. She might as well make the pain worth her while. Rey whimpered slightly at the thought and hoped that Ben would assume the sound was borne of desire.

Maybe he did, because finally, he came to life, opening up to her, matching her intensity with his own, reaching for her hips and tugging her body closer to him as he pulled her onto his lap and sent them tumbling backward on the bed. Rey caged his body with her own limbs; she felt like a panther toying with its prey as she nipped at his skin, dragged her tongue against the outline of his collarbone. She pressed her body against his as she bit down, if not hard enough to break the skin, at least hard enough to mark him thoroughly and emphatically. He groaned as she did so, jerking under her touch, and she smiled in spite of herself.

_She_ did that to him, wound him up with her tongue and her teeth and just a little nudge. She might have to give him back to Kaydel tomorrow, but for just tonight he was hers and Kaydel would be able to read the evidence of that truth on his skin. 

Rey tugged at his clothing, thankful that his button-up shirt meant that she didn’t have to choose between getting rid of the layers of fabric between them or pressing her lips to his. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said of her own tee shirt and she had to sit up to hastily yank it over her head. She flushed as Ben’s eyes raked over her.

“Rey,” he said, between heavy breaths, his voice questioning. “We’re doing this? This is –”

Rey ducked her face to his, kissing him deeply and cutting off his statement. She didn’t want to hear him say this wasn’t about them again, or that it was a one-time thing. She wanted to ignore the future while she could and just focus on this moment.

“Do you want me to stop?” she asked, her voice little more than breath against his lips when she broke the kiss. She didn’t want to hear his reasons but she wasn’t going to push for something he didn’t want, either. She kissed his moles and nipped at the junction of jaw and throat. “Tell me to stop now and I will.”

“God, no,” he growled in reply, one of his hands finding its way into her hair and pulling her mouth back to his. “Don’t stop. I want this.”

_Good,_ Rey thought. Who cared that it was just lust? The high of succeeding in his plan but without the _real_ object of his affection around to release this energy with? He wanted her for now and that would have to be enough. She’d worry about picking up the broken pieces tomorrow.

They were a tangle of limbs and a flurry of motion, stealing kisses and touches between stripping each other and themselves.

“Wow," Rey breathed, gaping openly at Ben.

He had the audacity to look shy under her gaze. “Good wow?" he asked.

Rey bit her lower lip as she nodded. “Very good wow," she confirmed. “Kaydel's a lucky woman."

Ben immediately lifted his head, locking his gaze with hers. “Rey…" he said, his voice pleading, “you can't th –"

"Shh," Rey leaned over to press her lips to Ben's cheek, chaste and gentle in comparison to her previous kisses. He clearly didn't want to invite his precious forever-girl into this little moment of weakness.  “Forget I said anything. I won't mention her again."

“Good," Ben replied, turning his head to capture Rey's bottom lip with his teeth.

Rey sank into the sensation of his touch a moment before she resumed her earlier actions with fervor, attacking lips and neck and chest with her hungry mouth, reveling in the guttural sounds she was drawing forth from Ben. He had come alive under her touch, matching her intensity, kiss for kiss and bite for bite; his hands roaming her body, setting her on fire.

_Does she make you feel this good?_ She thought but didn't say. She viciously hoped that Ben would remember this night, long after the hickeys she left on him had faded, when he and Kaydel were off in Chandrila in some picturesque little house with their two-point-five kids and a dog, he'd touch his neck and remember that _Rey_ was the one to challenge him and long for how _she_ had made him feel.

Tears pricked at the back of Rey's eyes as she looked down at Ben's; the intensity she found there was almost too much to bear.

_How was she supposed to go back to not having this? She was tormenting only herself._ Rey leaned down, screwing her eyes shut as she stole a frantic kiss, pushing the thought of impending loneliness away. It was soft, much too soft, the way that Ben slowly traced his tongue along the seam of her lips and sighed as she opened to him.

“Rey, I don't," he stuttered, “I don't have…a condom or anything…...I uh…I didn't plan-"

“I'm clean," Rey breathed. She didn't want to ruin the moment by pointing out that getting tested had been a top priority when she found out Poe had been cheating on her. “And I'm on the pill. You?" she asked hopefully.

"Me too," he breathed and Rey exhaled in relief. "Clean, I mean, not on the pill." She giggled in spite of the situation at his awkward reply.

“Good," she said, as she refocused before continuing honestly, “because I'm not sure I could have turned back."

And after, as Ben held her trembling body, a thought, aching and honest, flitted through her mind unbidden: _“I could stay right here, like this forever.”_

The startling, unattainable truth overwhelmed her, and the tears that had threatened earlier _did_ spill over as she buried her head in the crook of his shoulder, biting down on his tender flesh once more to keep from sobbing. Rey mourned not just the end of this particular moment of intimacy but the end of their entire relationship.

As they collapsed against the pillows, thoroughly worn out, Ben gazed over at Rey with wide eyes. “That was..." his voice trailed off.

Rey smiled softly, sadly. “Yeah, I know." Her anxiety about what the next day would bring was tempered only slightly by the rush of pride she felt as she took inventory of the marks she'd left on his skin.

"Rey," he began again, slowly.

But she wasn't ready to talk, to break the spell. She kissed him, the barest brush of her lips and trailed a finger over one of the love bites she'd left behind. “I’m tired,” she said. _True, even if an incomplete truth._ “Wait until tomorrow."

Ben nodded as Rey turned, tucked herself with her back against his chest to hide the sorrow she wasn’t sure she’d be able to keep out of her eyes, taking a small bit of comfort in falling asleep in his arms for the last time.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 17 of One Way or Another is a fairly mild M, but it is M. So, inspired by some other authors who have done this, I'm making a T rated version available for anyone who prefers to avoid M.
> 
> Biggest thanks to **@colliderofhadron** for all her help and encouragement!


End file.
